Home!!!!

Vern came home last night!!! He looks so good. He has lost some weight but not so much that he looks "sickly". Since he's part cherokee, that gorgeous skin coloring of his really helps him to look so good(why couldn't I have gotten the tanned skin???? :-(.

I can tell he's weak and sleepy and in pain but he just looks like my Vern! And that is a wonderful thing!!!

He still has a long road to travel. Needs to just rest and get his strength back but overall he has done an absolutely fab job!

Go Vern!! We are all so proud of you!

Andra

Day 11!

Vern sounded better today. He is getting caught up on some sleep, I think the meds are making him more comfortable and allowing him to rest much easier. He has to have a platelet transfusion today but other than that, its just a waiting game.

Have a great St. Patty's Day

Andra

Day 10!!!!

Sorry for the lag in posts. Our house was invaded by the green monster... the stomach flu!
Its been a loooong weekend!

Vern is doing well. Still in a lot of pain with the mouth sores but he is hanging in there. He is such a trooper. His counts are kind of hanging around at the same spot; not moving up much. Doc says everyone is different.

At this point, its just a rest and wait sort of period. Everyday brings its new challenges but he is taking each hurdle and climbing over each one. I am really proud of him.

Thanks for your prayers.

Andra

Day 7!!!

Go to the bottom of the page for pix!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Vern is starting to get severe mouth/throat sores from the chemo. They are serious. They are giving him morphine for pain. His counts have finally bottomed out. That means as of today he has NO immune system at all. He can not have any visitors that have been sick or even around anyone who has been sick for a few days. If he gets a cold or worse at this point it could be deadly. Its serious enough they won't even let him shower in fear he would hurt his port or fall as he is susceptible to bleeding for a few days.

If things continue doing as well as they have then in a week or little longer he might get to come home!!!! I sure hope so. I think being in your own bed is great for the mind and body. I know my own bed: well, there's just nothing like it!!!!

Vern, we are praying you don't get exposed to any germs today, that you have a restful day, and that you come home soon. We all miss you and love you!

Day 6!

Another day of the same :-( Vern is still sick to his stomach and veryyy weak. He sounds sooo tired on the phone. No blood transfusion yet.

My entire family has the flu/stomach flu so this will be short.

Thanks for praying/calling/commenting/emailing him, he needs that right now!

God Bless

Andra

P.S. Hey Vern, like today's background? I am Fed/EX ing you a plane ticket...bust out of there and let's go to Hawaii! The scenery has to be better than where you are :-) I miss you!!!!

Day 5!

Good afternoon.

Well, Vern is doing as good as can be expected. I can't go back down yet because I woke up with a nasty cold/flu. I am so mad!!!! I would love to see him!

So, we talk on the phone about 6 times a day :-)

Well, they said today/tomorrow should be his peek days of getting really really sick etc. He is sicker today and weaker but he was still able to hold small amounts of his bfast and lunch down. They are going to start giving him protein shakes to help today. The doc said his blood work today showed his blood levels are still dropping but have not bottomed out yet so they wait. I am praying that he won't get any worse and defy all they *think* will happen!

He is so strong. He said mostly today he is super weak, and I can't even imagine!

Here is the address to send cards too. He can't have flowers or latex balloons, but he can have Mylar balloons and cards.

Geroge Hatcher
c/o IU Hospital
550 North University Blvd.
BMT Unit-Adult Oncology
Indianapolis, IN 46202

Thanks for praying!

Andra

Day 4!

Good morning.

Today is considered day four. Day one was the transplant. Now, Vern has no immune system, the chemo wiped that out. Now when he leaves his room he has to wear a mask, gloves, and sterile gown. But he has been trying to take a small walk, even a few steps, if he can. He is so strong and such a fighter. I really admire him.

Vern is starting to get pretty ill to his stomach. He isn't eating much and losing weight. He is in quite a bit of pain too as the stem cells try to find his bones again. All things they expected but no fun for him!

His red blood count is dropping. Again, something they expect. At some point he will probably need a transfusion for that. They monitor things at least once a day from a blood standpoint, more if they need too.

He sounds very weak on the phone. I have a cold so I can't go down right now but am hoping by Friday I can leave. If you have a card or anything you want to send you can email me at abarker41@ivytech.edu and I would be more than happy to take it with me. You can even send and email to him at gtown2night@yahoo.com or just leave a comment under the blog posting and he will get to see it.

I am sure at this point the TV is getting old already but he's not really up to doing much else so any emails would help his days and nights to go faster. He's not been sleeping well from all the medication.

Thank you for all your prayers.

Andra

Last night Vern received his big dose of chemo. It went well. He started feeling hot all over and then cool. I told him it was just practice for menopause :-) or perhaps puberty!

He even took a small short walk with me and Mike last night on the transplant unit. Its so nice up there. Large floor to ceiling windows with lots of modern accessories. His room is like a penthouse suite! Nice flat screen tv, fridge, and automatic window blinds. He got an awesome room that faces Michigan street and the Barnes and Nobles bookstore so he can people watch if he gets too bored! :-)

He did VERY well with the chemo! It was making him nauseous this morning but they are trying to stay on top of his meds. He is in pain though so as of a little while ago they were giving him morphine.

I had to come home today but am keeping in touch with him. His transplant went well. He did have some chest tightness but is ok now. I just got off the phone with him and he said he was very out of it from all the meds but ok.

He asked me to post this phone number on here. Its a direct line to his room. Don't worry about calling and bothering him. I told him if he wasn't up to talking to just let the voice mail get it or Sara or Mike. 317-274-9695. This phone is on from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m. I think.

He can not have any latex balloons or fresh flowers. No food either. But he can have cards and Mylar balloons. I will post later tonight with the address you can send cards.

Thanks for praying!!!!!

Angela came home yesterday and Vern said she looked really good. The procedure worked. She did have a fever for a while but that's totally gone. Thank you Lord!!!

Vern is in Indy this morning. They were *supposed* to admit him and start everything today.
However, a few of the patients that just had their transplants got sick and had to be readmitted. so, they have a bed shortage. As of 9 this morning, he was still waiting. He wasn't sure what was going to happen.

I can't post until tomorrow afternoon. I am going down to see him this afternoon and be with him but when I get back I will post how the transplant and chemo went.

Thank you for your prayers.

Andra

The meds didn't work on Angela so this morning they will shock her heart. Please pray for her. Docs seem like this will work.

Vern is scheduled to be admitted on Thursday morning and do his chemo then. Friday is the transplant.

Thanks
Andra

The docs said that Angela was in arterial flutter. They are trying some new meds today, if those don't work then tomorrow they will shock her heart back into rhythm. They seem pretty hopeful this will correct the problem

Andra

Sounds like was a very long night for all of them. Vern sounded exhausted and said the kids were sleeping on the floor. Sara came from college to see her and Mike stayed too. The ER docs at Riley last night told Vern and Samantha that it looked like she had heart failure. So they did numerous tests to find out why. They STILL don't know much. Other than it could be something as little as a medication change to her heart is wearing out. They are waiting for Angela's cardiologist to get there, they will have their BIG meeting to decide a plan, and around noon they will come back in and formulate a plan.

So, they wait and wait....

Thanks for the prayers. Be back around noon.

:-)
Andra

Please Pray for Angela

George asked me to post so you could all pray tonight. Angela wasn't feeling well this morning so they took her to KCH emergency room. Apparently, she had a seizure earlier and just didn't act right most of the morning, not sure if the seizure was related or not since she has them a lot. Her face was swollen and she was irritable. KCH said her x-rays of her lungs etc showed signs of congestive heart failure with fluid near her lungs (not sure if he said in her lungs or around). They transported her around 4:30 p.m. to Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis. I will repost something when I know but it will most likely be tomorrow before they know what's going on.

Thank you in advance for your prayers.

Andra

Harvest Day 1:

Vern had his port placed yesterday at IU. He said it went well. Today they started harvesting his bone marrow. He had to lay there for 6 long hours. The nurse told him to take it easy tonight. She reminded him he might not have done anything physical today but his blood went through a marathon. He was pretty tired when I talked to him but in good spirits. He has to go back again tomorrow but they were pretty confident they could get all they needed by the end of the day tomorrow. His girls share a birthday, 19 and 18! Sara and Angela! tomorrow and he really wanted to be home for that. He had our brother drive him all the way to Terra Haute to see Sara for a few minutes after his surgery yesterday. Even though he was tired, he said it was so worth it to see her for her birthday. We miss you Sara!!!!!!

They have changed his actual admit to IU date to next Thursday, March 5th. They will do the high chemo dose that day and then the actual transplant will be next Friday.

You can pray for his strength, he was pretty worn out.

Thanks!

Harvest

Ready for the next step!

Well, its been another very long lag in posts, sorry!
Exams took December; then a virus took our hard drive; so that's been consuming our time the past few weeks.

Vern has finished his third round of chemo and we went to IU last week in anticipation of his bone marrow biopsy. We braved the cold, the snow, and they braved an eight hour trip with ME in the car (my brothers are adventurous! :-) ) and we got great news! Vern didn't have to have the biopsy.
YET!
He will still have to have it at the end of everything but hey, at least he can skip it for now, those are no fun!I remember when he had the first one and Mike and I waited in the lobby. Every man that came down that hall while we waited came out clutching their backsides and grimacing in pain. If it were me, I would have ran in the other direction screaming "No thanks, I don't want it!" (not that poor Vern has a choice!)

So, now we are ready to move onto the stem cell transplant. Vern is waiting for IU to call him to set it all up. I wait for him to call me...waiting, waiting, waiting. Poor guy, he feels like he is always waiting!

So, the real journey begins from here. He did fabulous with the chemo. He worked almost every single day as sick as he was. There were days, many of them he simply worked and then crashed when he came home. He is so brave!!!!

The stem cell could be rough. Very rough. That's what they tell us anyway. Three weeks in isolation type environment and weeks of sickness and a long recovery. But the key in all this is R-E-C-O-V-E-R-Y!!! We know Vern is a fighter and he will come out with both fists up and swinging. And he knows we will be there for him during his fight.

Vern has God walking beside him always and that makes all the difference.

Thanks for all your prayers, they are appreciated.

Andra